Teardrop Lies
by Eternity's Angel of Mercy
Summary: Change of title During the Jupiter Jazz episodes, we all know how close Gren seemed to feel toward Faye-and vice-versa-, but nothing really happened. What if something did... read to find out
1. Valley of Sound

**_Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah, I think all of you have at least read ONE of my fanfics, so you know I don't own the song "Valley of Sound" or CB… Enjoy the fic._**

****

**_~_**

****

****

**_Move me;_**

**_Don't try._**

**_Let the music reach me tonight._**

The bar was relatively empty, save for four shady looking men seated in the corner.  I could feel their heavy gazes lingering on me; not that I was bothered by it.  It was quite the contrary, really.  Their gazes fueled my self-image and boosted my esteem, and even—

"Achoo!" I sneezed suddenly.  The high-pitched, feminine sneeze was followed by two more of equal "cuteness**".      _Wow.  That was special, _**I thought wryly**._  There goes my self-image and esteem down the drain.  Nothing like a few mousy sneezes to turn the guy's heads.  Damn cold.  Damn planet.  Damn Jet for not keeping more money in the safe.  Damn Spike for not being around as I fled the BeBop.  Damn Ed for being too wrapped up on that damn Tomato to notice I was leaving.  Damn Ein for…well… being Ein!  Damn--   _**

Just as I was in the middle of my self—loathing and damning of everyone and everything, a male voice spoke up from behind me.  "Take care."

I turned, raising an eyebrow.  The young man that had been playing the alto saxophone on stage earlier was now standing beside me, jacket slung over his right shoulder, smiling at me.  "If someone sneezes and no one says 'take care' then that person will turn into a fairy," he enlightened me.   "At least, that's what they say around here…" 

I smiled, tilting my head to the side.  "Well, then there's no problem… I'm already a fairy, don't you know that?"  My cold-choked voice caused me to sound more innocent than I knew I was.  He smiled, putting his jacket over my shoulders.  I looked down at the dark material in shock for a moment, before grinning.  "I'm not as simple as I seem, Mr. Saxophone."

His smile seemed to widen, flashing his perfectly white teeth.  "Sorry, I'm not into women."

"Oh?" I questioned.  "Well, that's too bad."  I looked back down into my drink.  I wiggled free of his jacket, tossing it back to him.  "I'm afraid I must be going."

"Why don't you dance with me, first?" he asked, his smile still intact.

I raised my eyebrow at him again.  "Oh?  I thought you weren't interested in women."

He laughed gently, taking my left hand.  "You remind me of… someone.  I have to at least have one dance with the girl who had **_her _**personality."  

I was about to ask who this **_her_** was, but I was swept onto the tiny clearing that allowed room for a dance before I could.  Someone on stage had begun playing the piano.  It was a slow, lilting tune that made me sleepy.  I rested my head on the man's shoulder and I didn't resist when he held me closer.

"I haven't asked your name," he finally murmured softly in my ear.

"Faye," I answered simply, my eyes drooping.

"Well, Faye, I think it is time for you to go home."

I laughed gently.  "Yeah…  It's too bad that I have no where to go back to."

"You can come with me," he offered.  "I'm not contributing much… Just a warm place and a sofa to sleep on," he added when I didn't answer.  When I still didn't answer, he pulled away slightly… only to see that I was fast asleep.  He smiled softly, steering me out of the bar.

~

**_Push me over_**

**_Into something new_**

**_I've been riding all day on a bus_**

**_Just to listen to you_**

When I awoke the next morning, I was instantly wary.  I had a slight hangover, my nose was stuffy due to my intolerance to the cold Callisto atmosphere, and I was in a place I had never laid eyes on before.  I stood gingerly, looking around the nicely organized apartment.  I had been placed on a sofa, a blanket covering me as I slept.  There was a note on the coffee table, which I quickly snatched up and read.  

**'Went to the Blue Crow.  Be there 'til 10:30 tonight. **

**-Gren (8:22 am)'**

I frowned.  **_I remembered the Blue Crow from last night, but Gren…_**  I then realized Gren must be the nice saxophone player who had danced with me**_.  But why did he bring me here?_**   I looked at his desk clock, only to find that it was 1:56.  I grabbed my coat from where it was hanging on the wall, donning it.  

Once I reached the outside of the blue Orlando Apartments, I realized I would freeze to death if I walked all the way to the Blue Crow.  Not only that, but I had no idea which way it was the Blue Crow!  I found a bus stop, and sat down on the cold bench, waiting for the cursed thing to show up.

After close to an hour of sitting in the frigid cold and cursing everything that walked by, the bus arrived.  I filed onto it; only to have gotten a driver that was practically deaf.  When I said "Blue Crow", he thought I said "Blue 'Fro", and ended up taking me to some 1970's disco hall.  I repeated that I wanted the "Blue CROW".  This time, he thought I said "Sue Crow", which was an infamous underground agency for gangsters.  The third time, he finally understood where I wanted to go.  By this time, it was already 5:14 pm.  We reached the bar at 5:45.

I waltzed in, only to see the bar was practically empty.  Gren was seated at the bar, writing something down in a notebook.  I walked up to him.  "Hey stranger," I said.

He looked up, seeming startled.  "Oh, Faye," he greeted me with a warm smile.  "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just came by to see how my darling care-taker was handling."  I sat beside him, running a hand through my hair.  "Do you think you could play a song for me?" I asked suddenly.  

He seemed surprised that I had asked.  "What do you want to hear?"

I paused for a while.  "Something slow… something sad."

He smiled.  "I know just the song."  He stood, pulling his alto sax from its case.  Soon he was standing on stage –alone- and playing a soft, lilting tune that make my heart ache.  I was sorely reminded of the BeBop crew.  No matter what I said, I knew deep down that I felt safest in the poorly decorated rooms of the BeBop.

As Gren finished off the song, he came back to sit beside me.  "So, you want to talk about?"

I looked up at him, confused.  "About what?"

"About the people you ran away from," he suggested.

"How did you-"

"It was just a guess," he said with a small, sad smile.

"I don't see why you need to know-"

Once again he interrupted me.  "I figured you wouldn't want to talk about it.  I am expecting some sort of explanation by tonight, though."  He stood as the customers began to slowly trickle into the Blue Crow.  He took his post at the head of the room on stage, playing an assortment of songs to sooth the soul and wrench the heart.

**_  ~~~_**

****

**_I love, I love, I love, I love the look_**

**_In your trespassed eyes_**

**_I love, I love, I love, I love the way_**

You can make me cry 

"Honestly, what I am doing with them is nothing but trouble… and I get nothing out of it.  So, it doesn't matter whether I'm there or not."  I sipped my mystery drink that Gren had made us.  He was listening to my relations of BeBop life with rapt attention.  He was a wonderful listener.

"You were afraid that they'd leave you, so you left them.  You distanced yourself from the whole thing," he murmured.  

I looked over at him, amazed.  _Hot damn… it's as if he read my mind.  It's as if he read my soul…_ "I don't know why I am telling you all of this…"  I lied back on the couch, draping my head over the couch arm.  "I feel like I'm in a confession booth… You don't happen to be a preacher, by any chance, do you?"

I had meant the last as a joke, but he answered, "No," anyway.

I glanced over at his, and for the first time our eyes locked.  **_Those eyes…_**  They were a swirl of dark midnight, the deepest blue I had ever seen.  They were so perfect, so deep, so soulful… and so mournful.  I wanted to ask him why his eyes were like that, why they were so grief-stricken.  I notice how his eyes was almost longing as they glanced upon me.  It worried me at first, and then excited me at the same time.  We stared into each other's eyes for a longer period of time then we should have.  I was just about to say something very romantic and enticing, but my body had other plans in mind.

"Achoo!" The whole sneezed caused my body to jolt forward.  It was unbelievably embarrassing, especially when Gren began to chuckle softly.

"Take care, Faye."

"Yeah, thanks," I mumbled, wiping at my nose with the towel Gren had given me for my damp hair earlier.  

"Hey, you want to take a shower?" he offered, standing up.

"No thanks," I said, "there might be peeping toms around."

He laughed gently again.  "Just make sure you're not one of them."

"Well now, I can't promise that."

He flashed me one of him pretty smiles before retreating into the bathroom.     

****

**_Sink me into stirred-up sea_**

**_Something I can drown in_**

**_Only you can do this to me_**

While Gren was in the shower, I entertained myself by glancing at all of the pictures upon the wall.  I then came across one that had been torn down the middle, but repaired with tape.  I looked closely, noting it was a war picture**_.  That man… the one behind Gren… God, I know that profile…_**  The phone, as if on cue, rang shrilly.  I jumped, looking at the contraption.  Once the answering machine picked up, I heard a cold, calculation voice.

"Gren, where are you?" **__**

"Vicious!" I all but yelped in surprise.  I hardly heard the rest of what he was saying.  I looked back at the picture.  "Oh God, it's Vicious!"

**_~~~_**

Okay, so I liked the guy.  Big deal.  No amount of 'like' would keep me from taking out anyone who had something to do with Vicious.  I had slipped into the bathroom, my Glock held tightly in hand.  The gun felt heavy in my jittery, nervous hands.  I reached out, flinging the shower curtain open to come face to face with---

A woman.

That was my first thought, at least.  "A woman?!"  You know when you find out something so horrible that you stop breathing and you mind races with the realization?  This was one of those times for me**_.  To think I've been having these thoughts about… a woman!_**  I the glanced down, despite my mind's telling me not to.  I jerked my head up and away, eyes wide.  "WHICH ONE ARE YOU?!" I screamed, keeping the gun centered on him while trying to keep the image out of my head.

He slowly stepped out of the shower, coming up to me.  I began to back away.  My mind grew frantic and panicked, not wanting that…that… **_thing_** near me.  I ended up backing myself into a wall, where I was quickly pinned by Gren's arms blockading my left and right side.  My gun was held tightly in my iron grip at my chest.  "I am both at once, yet neither at the same time."

I continued to stare at him, afraid of what he would do.  After a few seconds, he simply pulled away, turned, and walked back into the steaming shower.  He turned off the water before stepping out again and grabbing a robe from the back of the door.  I was relieved slightly when he was finally covered up.  "I told you to make sure you weren't a peeping tom, Faye," He murmured.  There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"You're in line with Vicious."  It was not a question, but he seemed to think it was.

"I only agreed to give him something the Syndicate needs.  It does not mean I am 'in line' with him, as you so delicately put it."

He walked into the living room and began to relate his story of the Titan War.  "Vicious and I fought that bloody war together, side by side.  We relied on one another's abilities.  And then, when we got back from the war, Vicious sold me down the river by telling the authorities that I was a spy.  They put me in jail.  They started running test on me; injecting me with some new drug they were creating.  Turns out it had a large dose of estrogen; female hormones.  My own hormones went out of balance, and this is what happened," he said, referring to his enlarged breasts.

"Why are you going to be doing anything for him, then?" I suddenly asked in an outburst.  I was seated on one of his plush chairs, my gun still held between my hands in a tense grip.  

"I don't know.  I guess I wanted to see him again.  To ask why he did it."

"He's going to kill you, you know," I said, the first shot of anger tracing through my voice.

"I'm not afraid of death."

"That's not true!" I screamed.  

Those words made him glance at me sharply.  He then put on a small, forlorn smile before walking into another room.  When he emerged, he was fully dressed and holding a large bag.  "Goodbye, my fairy Faye."

"So, you bring someone home selflessly and then go off to die."  I began to grind my teeth; I was unable to believe I had such strong feelings for someone I had only known for a short period of time.  "You are more of a coward than I am."  I knew that got his attention.  "You talk so freely about how I ran from the BeBop; from Spike, Jet, and even Ed and Ein!  Then you decide to run off on me and get yourself killed by someone who has sold you down the river before!"

****

**_I love, I love, I love I love the look-_**

**_In your trespassed eyes._**

**_I love, I love, I love I love the way-_**

**_You can make me cry._**

I stood, and in one rash moment, I began to shoot.  I was barely able to see him as he avoided my bullets, ran up behind me, and twisted my gun hand behind my back.  I let out a short shout of shock and pain as he roughly grabbed my left arm, as well, pulling me back.  Before I knew it, I was handcuffed, gun-less, and lying on Gren's bed.  He was standing above me, looking down at me sadly.  Once again, those eyes entrapped me.  

"Faye, I am sorry, but I have to leave you like this."  He brushed a lock of my hair from my eyes, seeming truly sorry.

Tears began to leak down my face.  Tears of both rage and sorrow fell from my eyes.  They were tears I had been holding back since I came out of Cryogenic sleep.  "Please, Gren," I let out in a water whisper.  "Don't leave me alone."  Those four words were the same ones I had wanted to beg of everyone; of Spike and Jet, even of the lowlife scum Whitney Haggis Matsomoto.  "Don't leave me alone," I repeated.   

****

**_Fill me up-_**

**_And drop me down, yeah._**

**_Now I'm alive in the valley of sound-_**

**_In the valley of sound._**

****

Gren sighed deeply, his eyes softening.  He bent down, meeting my lips with his.  It took me a few moments to react before my lips responded to his.  I didn't care about his 'problems'.  I didn't care about anything at that moment.  His tongue pressed between my closed lips, seeking entry.  I gladly opened for him, letting him tenderly and delicately make his way around my mouth and play tag with my tongue.  He finally pulled away gently. 

"I thought you weren't interested in women," I murmured, partially serious, partially comical. 

He smiled softly, searching my eyes.  "There are only two women who would make me change my mind about that... You are one of them."

I closed my eyes, willing my tears to stop.  "Don't leave."

I felt his lips kiss each of my eyelids, and finally my forehead.  "Your friends will come for you."  With another soft kiss of our lips, he walked out.

I love, I love, I love I love the look- 

**_In your trespassed eyes, yeah._**

**_I love, I love, I love I love the way-_**

**_You can make me cry._**

Angel of Mercy's Comments~ How was it?  This is my first real try and making a Gren and Faye coupling (might I add the Gren is the hottest guy to ever grace the pages of Cowboy BeBop).  My friend and I have a sort of game going on.  We took the same song, the same artist, and the same genre (aka Cowboy BeBop) and wrote a fanfiction to that song, without telling the other what we had in mind.  This was a fun way to write an fanfiction.  So, if you liked mine, why don't you check out her?  Her coupling is Spike/Faye, so read hers, okay?  Her s/n is Midnight Rain, and she should have her story posted directly above or below mine.  SOOOOOOOO… check it out!  PLEASE REVIEW!!! 

Love love,

~Eternity~ 


	2. Sullen Eyes

YES YES YES!!! I wrote a second chapter to this, due to popular demand.  This chapter was originally supposed to be a songfic, but the song ended up not fitting so well.  Now, it is a simple normal fic.  I hope you all enjoy.  This is the last chapter of "Teardrop Lies".  I hope you enjoy it!~~

Sullen Eyes ~ Chapter 2 

  
  


The door closing was the only sound I heard.  I couldn't believe he had just **_left me_** there!  I sighed, rolling over so that I was on my stomach.  I wasn't sure what that would accomplish, but I had the dire urge to **_move_**, to feel like I was making some sort of progress with the annoyingly tight handcuffs. I ended up getting completely fed up with my predicament.  I rolled over so I was on my back once again.

My mind wandered back to only moments earlier, when Gren's lips had covered mine.  In an odd way, I wished that I had the pride to cry now that he was gone.  But no, my pride was at stake.  I would not –could not- cry.  Crying –even in an empty room- would break me completely.

My lips tingled, reminding me of how warm his had been.  How soft and needing they had felt atop of mine.  **_Stop it, _**I growled internally, agitated.**_  He's only a man, Faye.  Get over it.  _**Yes, he was only a man; just an ordinary man.  **_An ordinary, beautiful man that you happen to be immensely interested in,_** the other side of my mind argued.

As I helplessly listened to the opposite sides of my muddled, confused mind, I felt the over-powering fatigue that the day had brought upon me take over.  I fell into a deep, dark sleep.  My dreams were filled with sweet kisses, impious caresses, and lies meant to be broken in a darkened room. 

~

  
  


A soft hand on my cheek awoke me.  My heart almost leapt out of my chest at the thought of it being Gren.  When I looked up, I was sorely disappointed when I saw it was not Gren- it was Jet.  "Oh, it's you," I murmured.  My voice sounded soft and alien to my own ears.

"Faye, what the hell's going on here?"  His voice was equally as delicate, a hint of worry seeping into it.  Jet rolled me over slightly, and I knew he caught sight of the handcuffs.  "Oh, so he's that kind of guy, huh?"  

"Huh?  Oh, you mean Gren?"  I allowed myself a small smile before saying, "He was unlike anyone else."

Jet went silent, and I could just imagine the ideas that were running through that balding head of his.  He finally pulled me up, pulling a bobby pin out of my hair and picking my handcuffs with it.  I was relived to get my hands out of the cuffs.  My wrists were pink and raw where the metal had been.

"Come on," he said simply, taking me by the arm.  I left him lead me out, supporting most of my weight.  I felt… out of it.  I wasn't able to quit thinking about Gren.  I didn't feel sad, or even mad.  I wasn't broken up inside… I was normal.  I was fine.  But I couldn't get him out of my mind.

I kept thinking of the saxophone player as Jet helped me into Red Tail.   I wasn't sure how he had found Red Tail, but he had, and it had been hooked up to a support line stretching from Hammerhead.  He was treating me differently now.  Maybe it was because I seemed so unlike my usual self.  Maybe it was because I kept spacing out and had a blank expression on my face.  Or maybe it was because he had been truly worried about me.

"Why'd you come after me?" I asked.

"I want my money back," he answered dispassionately.  So much for him being worried about me…

I sighed before chuckling softly.  "There was only two million."

"Really?" he questioned, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

We rode in silence the rest of the way.

~

  
  


I was sprawled out on the couch, looking at a magazine.  Ed was chattering away endlessly while painting my toenails.  I didn't mean to ignore her, but I couldn't help it.  Too much was running through my head.

Jet had told Spike to catch Gren and bring him in so we could turn him over to the cops.  I knew Spike would not hesitate to bring him in.  **_But will you let them just turn Gren over to the police like that?_**

A few moments later, I felt the whole ship tremble as the hanger was opened.  I gave a large sigh, standing up and walking into the doorway of the hanger.  It slid open and Spike almost collided with me.  "I see you are back," he said, edging around me.

"Where is he?" I asked.  My voice was still muted, but I felt a bit of my spunky self coming back.

"Who?" Spike asked, beginning to walk toward the kitchen.

"Gren." 

That made him pause.  He turned to look at me slowly, his two-toned eyes locking onto my emerald ones.  "He's on his way to Titan."

My eyes widened.  "Titan?" I questioned.  **_Titan… oh God, he was in the Titan War… what is he doing going back to a place like that?_**

****

"It's a long story," he murmured, turning away.  I deliberately put myself in front of him, blocking him path.

"I've got the time," I said.

~

I found myself in Red Tail, ignoring Jet's forceful screams for me to think through what I was doing.  

"Damnit, Faye, he's probably already dead!" he yelled over the communicator.  I cut off the transition, stopping his angry voice.

I was on my way to Titan.  I was on my way to Gren.

~ 

I found his fighter ship floating miles before Titan.  I was quick to put on my space suit and make my way toward his ship.  He was inside, his eyes closed.  I panicked, rapping on the outside glass with my knuckles.  He did not stir.  

I could not possibly open the pod.  If I did, he would soon be dead –if he were even alive to begin with.  I continued to bang my fist on the pod, hoping –praying- that he would open his eyes and at least look at me one last time.

I gave up after half an hour.  I slowly made my way back into Red Tail, sighed deeply.  I rested my head on the back of my pilot seat, feeling a cool tear slip down my cheek.  I had been so sure that I would make it in time.  I was positive that I could save him.

I was drawn out of my silent reverie when I heard a soft knocking on the outside of my pod.  I looked up swiftly, noticing a tall, thin form in a worn spacesuit.  I opened the pod swiftly, not thinking anything besides, **_oh God, oh God, he's alive.  It has to be Gren!  It has to!_**  Once the other figure was squeezed into the small one-seat pod with me, I closed the hatch.  I then looked up, watching as a trembling hand reaching up and took of their helmet.  Long torrents of beautiful midnight hair spilled from it.

"Gren," I murmured, a small, amazed smile creeping onto my face.  

He smiled gently at me.  "I don't know… why you… you came.  I'm gonna… go soon…"

"You bastard," I murmured, but my voice was soft and amused.  "I still can't believe you'd rather die on a lonely desert than in the arms of a pretty young woman."

That caused Gren to laugh.  The laugh brought on a gurgling cough, producing blood.  The humor was instantly gone from my face.  I rearranged Gren so that he would be comfortable and so that I could pilot easily.  

"It's not worth it, Faye," he murmured.  His eyes were beginning to close.  

"Damnit, Gren, stay awake!"  I shouted, causing his eyes to flash open.  He cast a small, forlorn smile in my direction.  "I'm not letting you die," I informed him, adding more speed to Red Tail.  I was racing the clock, and the odds were not in my favor.

~

We made it back to the BeBop.  Gren was still holding on.  I carried him –more like **_lugged_** him- to the couch, where I called out for Jet.  He came over, looking down at Gren.  "Jesus Faye," he murmured, sounding abashed that I had actually carried through with my plan.  

"It's an internal bleeding," Spike said from his perch on the chair across from the couch.  "There's nothing we can do for him."

"Then get a doctor here!" I yelled, feeling a strong sense of desperation creeping over me.

"Faye," Gren murmured gently, covering my hand with his.  His was deathly cold against me feverish one.  "I'm not… not gonna make it…"

Jet could sense the need for privacy that I was wishing for frantically.  He motioned for Spike to follow him into the kitchen where they could spy on us without looking too fascinated.

Once they were out of sight, I looked down at the pale, trembling form that was Gren.  "You remind me of… of her."  

"Who?" I asked.

"Julia."  He smiled gently as the name left his lips.  "You two are so… so different.  Opposites in every way… but you both can snare… snare men so easily… Both so beautiful… Both so sad."  His eyes began to close, and I felt more tears begin to form behind my wide eyes.

I slipped down beside him on the couch.  There was barely any room for the both of us, but somehow we managed.  His arms entwined themselves around me; his hands noosed themselves in my hair, and I felt the most secure sense of well-being wash over me.  I felt so safe with him.

I don't know how long we laid like that, but after a while I felt him kiss my lips gently –like a brush of a butterfly wing- and then he rested his head on my shoulder.  Moments later, he was gone.

~Eternity's Angel of Mercy's Comments~  Thank you all who reviewed the first chapter.  This is the final chapter and the end of this short, sappy fic.  I actually started CRYING as I wrote the ending to this, but I loved it.  I hope everyone else did, too!  Please review!


	3. Adieu, for Now

Disclaimer:  Well, I promised myself that this story would be a one-hit-wonder.  Then, once I got a request for a second chapter, I promised it would ONLY be two chapters!  **_NOW LOOK_**!  This is my **_third_** chapter!!!  I think this is the end, though.  There is no other way for me to continue it, so this is the end. **_So long, farewell, adieu_**!  I do not own BeBop, but I did think of this idea, so don't sue me!!!

**_ON TO THE FINAL CHAPTER!_**

****

**_Teardrop Lies_**

**_Chapter 3 – Adieu for Now…_**

I don't think that there was a single person alive who thought that he, of all people, deserved to die.  God knows that I didn't.

Grencia Mars Elijah Guo Eckener was the most compassionate, prefect person I had ever met in my entire lifetime.  I didn't know him for a long time; in fact, it was just the opposite.  I didn't know what his favorite season was, or what favorite foods he had.  I didn't know if he was a Christian.  I didn't know how long he had been in prison, and I didn't know if Vicious really did frame Gren.  I had my opinions on the latter, but I will not stress them at this time.  I didn't know whether he and Julia were ever close.  Basically, I didn't know anything about Gren.

One thing that I did know, though, was that I felt at ease with him.  Maybe it was love; I don't know.  I also knew that he died in my arms, his fingers entwined in my hair, head resting on my shoulder.

And I knew that Vicious was the reason why he died.

~

We didn't have enough money for a funeral, but I simply could not just dump Gren out into space.  It wasn't a proper burial for someone like him.  I begged Jet to take us to Titan, so that I could bury him myself.  After pleading and groveling, Jet gave in.  I knew he would.  Despite his try to appear indifferent, he was a sweet guy who cared about everyone.  He was usually very lenient when it came to me.   

Within a day we arrived on Titan.  I went outside, hefting Gren over one shoulder, Ed carrying a shovel out for me.  I had not been able to carry both the shovel and Gren.  His tall frame was heavy despite its appearance, and I stumbled about eight times on the whole trip outside.  Once we trekked a ways out, I finally put Gren down on the sand.  I turned to Ed and took the shovel.  "You can go back to the ship now, Ed," I told her softly.

Ed frowned at the shovel, and then looked over at Gren.  "Ed wants to stay.  Can Ed please stay?" 

It was such a simple request, but it brought tears to my eyes anyway.  "Yes, Ed.  You can stay."  She sat down next to Gren, her face drawn into a serious line.  She had been very quiet since she had come out to find me lying on the couch, sobbing into a dead man's hair.

I began to dig.  It would have been a relatively easy job, if it weren't for the accursed wind that kept blowing the sand back into the hole.  After close to two hours later, I got the hole finished.  Sweat poured down my back, making my clothing stick uncomfortably.  

I wiping my brow, taking a deep breath, before leaning down and picking Gren back up.  I put him into the seven-by-six hole I had dug.   I then collapsed by the hole, simply staring down at him.  The wind started up again and began to blow some of the sand back into the hole.

I hadn't noticed that the rest of the BeBop crew had joined me until Ein came up and licked my hand.  The dog had always hated me.  Something made me wonder why he was showing compassion toward me now.  I then realized that it was my aura.  Dogs sensed things like sadness. 

I stood up, putting on my best look of boredom, although it pained me to do so.  "Lets go, this climate is getting to me."  

I started to walk away when Spike reached out and grabbed my shoulder.  I stiffened.  "Don't, Faye," he said gently.  "I know you are trying to look cool and act unsympathetic… but you don't need to.  It isn't fooling anyone."

I felt my defenses crumble down and the beginnings of tears coming to the corners of my eyes.  I couldn't let them see me cry, though; I still had my pride, no matter how small and beaten it had become.

Jet also put his hand out on my other shoulder.  "Faye, it's okay to cry."  I looked over at him, surprised.  It was as if he had read my mind.  Just because he said that, the liquid behind my eyelids became overwhelming.  They spilled over my bottom lids, and in an instant I was swept into a fierce hug from Jet.  I buried my head in his chest, my arms going around his back, sobbing.  I felt cool arms slide around my legs, and I knew it was Ed.  

As I pulled away, I wiped at my eyes.  I saw Spike looking at me closely, his eyes trying to tell me something that I couldn't understand.  "I'm supposing you want a hug from me, now?" he finally asked.  His voice sounded uncaring and nonchalant.  I couldn't help but choke out a laugh.  

"Don't flatter yourself," I said, smiling a little.  I turned to look back at Gren, only to find that the sand had completely covered him.  Ed had placed a pinwheel on his grave, and it spun rapidly.  The color of the pinwheel was a deep, dark blue.  It was the same color as Gren's eyes.

"Adieu for now," I whispered.  I then blew a final kiss at the grave before turning and heading back to the ship.

~

I had stayed in the bathroom, soaking in the tub for at least three hours, just thinking.  I finally decided to get out when I heard Jet call out that dinner was ready.  I was dying of hunger.

I changed into a pair of baggy drawstring pants and a tanktop before heading out of the bathroom.  I bumped into Spike, who was coming from the hanger.  He looked at me briefly before saying, "You are a strange one."

I froze.  _That's what I told Gren…_  "What do you mean?" I asked, looking at him.

"Going and falling in love with someone like Gren… It's just not what I expected out of you," he said simply.  His tone wasn't accusing or even smug.  It was truly questioning.  It was as if he was really interested.

I looked down at the floor, sighing.  "It's not what I expected out of me, either," I said softly.

Spike looked at me for a longer moment, then he cracked a smile.  He opened his arms wide, saying in a mocking voice, "Do you need a hug?"

I rolled my eyes, walking past him, a large smile on my face.  "Sorry, Spike.  I think I'll pass."  

Maybe this life wasn't so bad, anyway.

Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to survive.

_Screw the 'maybe'.  I will survive._


End file.
